Meta

Posts tagged ‘sexism’

It’s gotten to the point where whenever I see the term “politically correct,” I kind of just read it or hear it as “educated.” It’s a really handy tool. Here’s an example.

Someone says, “Things are too politically correct these days.” All I see is, “Things are too educated these days.” See how simple that makes it?

When people complain about things being politically correct, they’re complaining about the nuances of what it’s like to be living in a modern society. They yearn for the days when they could just talk about people as being “wetbacks.” Like Republican Don Young did recently. Young can’t be bothered to learn or understand how terms like “wetback” or “spic” are actually harmful to certain communities—until it threatens their political careers. Then they learn really quickly what other people have learned steadily over the last 50 years:

Language has a force to it, and using it to denigrate entire communities has real world, legitimate social effects. Every time we use words like “wetback” or “spic,” it reinforces the notion that there are “real Americans” with names like Young and “fake” Americans with names like Rodriguez or Gonzales.

This isn’t “political correctness.” It’s education and understanding, and it applies to just about every situation where groups of people are being targeted as homogenous entities. The kind of people who want to lazily talk about “the blacks,” or “Muslims,” or “the gays” as singular groups are the same kind of people who complain about things being “politically correct.” They can’t be bothered to understand the complexities of today’s America, especially the complexities of what it’s like to not be in the majority. And so they lament how other people are forcing them to confront the fact that saying things like “the blacks whatever just need to work harder, then they’ll succeed” has been and continues to be an incredibly stupid way of looking at how a society works. It’s not that simple now, and it never has been.

“There is no reason in the world why the negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I hold that he is as much entitled to these as the white man. I agree with Judge Douglas he is not my equal in many respects—certainly not in color, perhaps not in moral or intellectual endowment. But in the right to eat the bread, without leave of anybody else, which his own hand earns, he is my equal and the equal of Judge Douglas, and the equal of every living man.” – Abraham Lincoln

But those things aren’t okay to say anymore, and it’s not because they’re politically incorrect: it’s because they’re staggeringly ignorant and ignore the real inequality that so many people in this country face on an everyday basis.

Since 1933, Augusta National Golf Club has been a place where rich men could get together and play golf. The Masters Tournament has been held at Augusta ever since 1934, and the two are virtually interchangeable. They are a brand. They have carefully orchestrated every single aspect of that brand for years. It’s always been an absolutely beautiful course, and that beauty has either been preserved or enhanced over the decades. When those iconic visuals are combined with its stature as the only location to see a “major” tournament every single year, Augusta National is not just a golf course: it’s a monolith. It’s the most famous and most revered and, in golf circles, most respected course or club in America—and likely the entire world.

And women are not allowed to be a part of it.

Millions and millions of Americans tune in every year to watch the Masters on television. The Masters and Augusta National are privatized and monetized; they make tens of millions of dollars a year. I looked into it, and the only thing I could find was this link from 2004 saying that the Masters generates $44m in revenue. I’m surprised even that number is public, as they are a private club with an incentive to keep such information hidden. They’re a for-profit, multimillion dollar business operating right here in America:

And women are not allowed to be a part of it.

It’s a classic “boy’s club.” They pick and choose who they would like to have in, and up until the 90’s, this excluded minorities. It’s a remnant of an American past where it was perfectly acceptable for a bunch of rich white men to get together and tell the women and the negroes to get the hell out.

As part of this historic tradition, each year the Masters bestows their iconic “green jackets” on the winner of the tournament as well as a few others they deem worthy. Well, who is more worthy than their corporate sponsor overlords? The CEOs of their corporate sponsors every year, historically 100% men, have also been given green jackets: a sign of acceptance and membership in the Augusta National Club.

So did that snag actually cause a change in policy and allow a woman to be treated equally alongside men?

Well, that’s not clear just yet. I guess we’ll have to wait for Sunday. (Update: they didn’t) Even though the tournament has already begun, The Masters and Augusta National will not comment on the issue. And, while their formerly racist (though former might not even be appropriate) and thoroughly sexist history has done more than enough to stain and tarnish the esteem of the Masters and Augusta National in the eyes of any thinking, egalitarian, and non-bigoted person, Augusta clings to their prejudice in the name of tradition.

A tradition of bigotry used as an excuse to continue its bigotry.

The voices speaking about this are simply too impotent to impact the situation. The only way it might change is if people stop watching and caring. And, since it’s the biggest tournament of the year, as long as golf is still popular in America and the world, this will continue. As long as people still watch on television, and as long as those corporate sponsorships still want to reach those millions, there’s no pressure which can be exerted.

Even back about 10 years ago when sponsors completely pulled their support, the Masters went ahead anyways commercial free. These guys have enough money to do it. And they have the dedication to their bigotry, as well.

And, let’s say that this year Augusta relents and allows Rometty to become a member, it would only be seen as being done solely for corporate ties. Changing their bigoted tradition over a few million dollars: how… appropriate? How… classy?

So, regardless of the outcome of this particular story, one thing will still be true:

Augusta and the Masters are a disgrace to American civil and social progress—a vestigial marking of historical American patriarchy.